Kyle Whittingham ruffles the feathers of Michigan fans with his take on rivalry games

Kyle Whittingham took part in his first Big Ten Media Days as Michigan football head coach on Thursday, and it went well for the most part, depending on who you ask.

In the opinion of some, Whittingham's answers about Ohio State and what the rivalry means raised some red flags.

When asked about "The Game" by ESPN, here is how Michigan's head coach responded:

"It's the biggest rivalry in the country, in our opinion. Something that's in the back of mind every single day, but I am old school and I believe in taking it one game at a time."

Some Micihgan fans didn't like Kyle Whittingham's response to Ohio State question

Some fans didn't take that response, well. It's kind of similar to what Jim Harbaugh said when he first arrived as the Michigan football head coach. His approach was very much we will focus on Ohio State that week, but Harbaugh didn't treat it as life or death like Urban Meyer, the man he never beat.

That felt like it changed in 2021, when Harbaugh said Michigan football would "beat Ohio or die trying." The Wolverines started focusing on the Buckeyes more than they used to, and made other subtle changes that put more focus on beating OSU.

Guess what? It worked.

That's the attitude Michigan football fans want. It's probably closer to the attitude that's needed, because when Michigan achieves greatness on the gridiron, it is beating Ohio State. The two things go hand in hand.

In this new era, as we saw with Ohio State in 2024, a win in the rivalry isn't needed to win a national championship. So maybe there is some truth to what Whittingham is saying. However, once he lives and experiences the rivalry, his opinion will probably change.

For the record, I've got no issue with Whittingham saying he doesn't hate Ryan Day. He even called Day a "good person."

Whittingham doesn't need to hate Ryan Day, but he does need to beat him, and his attitude feels more like John Cooper than Urban Meyer if we are looking through an Ohio State lens, which has Michigan football fans slightly worried.

It's too early for that, although Whittingham went as far as to say the Michigan State rivalry might be even more important.

“And, you know, in some ways, it’s more important (than OSU-UM) with the in-state supremacy factored in and being the best team in the state of Michigan. And so it'll be obviously a heavy emphasis placed on it," Whittingham said.

There should be a heavy emphasis on beating both programs. Michigan does need to own the state, which it didn't when Dantonio was around, at least in the beginning. With Pat Fitzgerald, the Wolverines can't take that for granted anymore.

This is a question that will follow Whittingham until November. He even said he would allow Urban Meyer into practice, each week but one. While Michigan football fans, most of them, were overjoyed at the hire of Whittingham, this is one thing that will give some pause. Justified or not.

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